A Single Event Effect (SEE) is a disturbance in an active electronic device caused by a single, energetic particle. One type of SEE is a Single Event Upset (SEU). An SEU is a radiation-induced error in a semiconductor device caused when a charged particle loses energy by ionizing the medium through which it passes, leaving behind a wake of electron-hole pairs, forming a parasitic conduction path. The parasitic conduction path causes a false transition on a node. The false transition, or glitch, propagates through the semiconductor device and ultimately results in the disturbance of a node containing state information, such as an output of a latch or register.
Typically, an SEU is caused by ionizing radiation components in the atmosphere, such as neutrons, protons, and heavy ions. The ionizing radiation components are abundant in space, even at commercial flight altitudes. Additionally, an SEU can be caused by alpha particles from the decay of trace concentrations of uranium and thorium present in some integrated circuit packaging. As another example, an SEU may be caused by a detonated nuclear weapon. When a nuclear bomb is detonated, intense fluxes of gamma rays, x-rays, and other high energy particles are created.
Some semiconductor devices are designed to operate in conditions that expose the devices to energetic particles. However, external testing to determine which semiconductor devices can withstand SEU is costly and time consuming. Therefore, it would be beneficial to be able to analyze and predict which semiconductor devices are suitable for operating in these conditions prior to performing external testing. As a result of being able to analyze and predict which semiconductor devices are suitable for operating in the presence of energetic particles, design and testing costs may be reduced.